Russellville Residents Upset Over Water Bills

RUSSELLVILLE - Residents in Russellville are upset by the size of their water bill over the last few months. The City chose to increase the rates for water and sewer last May. Russellville Mayor Ritchie Jenkins explained that bills are calculated by physically reading a resident's meter.

If inclement weather prohibits the city from reading the meter, the city must estimate the resident's bill for that month.

If the estimate is lower, the resident will have to make up the difference on the next month's bill. The Russellville water and sewer rates are based on the city's median income.

Jenkins said that the city originally increased the water and sewer rates last May.

"We have to do major changes to our sewage system, and in order to do that we had to be at two percent of our median household income in our bill that we're charging out," Jenkins said.

Some residents still think the bill amounts are too high, including Russellville resident Gilbert Moshier.

"I'm a little bit frustrated due to the fact that my water bill and my sewer bill is approximately almost half of what my heat and light bill is," Moshier said.

But the Mayor says the city had no choice.

"I guess some people are still upset with the amount that it jumped. They hope that it will go down when in fact we don't have that as an option.

Jenkins also said that other towns in Mid-Missouri, like Eldon, are also experiencing increased water rates.